Senior Gameplay Animator (NPC)

CD PROJEKT RED is looking for a Senior Gameplay Animator with a focus on NPC’s to join our Boston hub and contribute to the development of Cyberpunk 2, the next mainline Cyberpunk 2077 game.

In this role, you will create high-quality player and NPC combat and locomotion animation. You’ll deliver grounded, believable character performances that can escalate into heightened combat action. This is a hands-on individual contributor role, working from early previsualization and prototyping through final in-engine implementation. You will collaborate closely with Designers and other multidisciplinary partners, with a focus on NPC movement and combat behaviors that are readable, responsive, and engaging in moment-to-moment gameplay. Reporting to the Animation Lead, you will help set the quality bar and best practices for character movement and the overall combat experience.
 

Daily Responsibilities

• Develop high-quality player and NPC animation across a wide range of characters, enemy behaviors, combat and locomotion states, and encounter scenarios.
• Partner with the Animation Lead and key stakeholders to align animation quality, style, and execution with the project’s aesthetic goals, gameplay pillars, and overall player experience.
• Collaborate daily within a cross-disciplinary team to define gameplay experiential goals and deliver features from concept through final implementation.
• Create pre-visualizations and prototypes to assist in communication and development.
• Create high-quality finished player and NPC animation using a mix of hand-keyed and motion capture to deliver exciting, expressive, and readable character motion.
• Work hands-on within Unreal Engine to implement, iterate, and validate NPC animation in real-time gameplay contexts, ensuring animations look and feel strong in play.
• Research, explore and advocate new techniques, systems, and workflows to improve animation quality, efficiency, and support evolving gameplay and previsualization needs.
• Contribute to motion capture shot lists and provide performance direction when applicable.
• Provide clear feedback and animation insight during reviews and other collaborations, helping raise quality across NPC gameplay animation.
• Provide mentorship, inspiration, and support to early-career animators through feedback, collaboration, and example.